仏教公伝と崇仏論争 -『日本書紀』の仏教関連記載の再検討 -

Abstract

In this article, I analyse the situation at the time when Buddhism was first introduced to Japan. In general, there are two hypotheses concerning the year of its introduction, one stating the year of 552 and the other stating the year of 538. There are some other hypotheses, but they come down to the above two hypotheses. The two hypotheses agree that Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the mid-6th century. At the time, the society was ruled by Emperor Kinmei, and the Soga clan and the Mononobe clan were influential vassals. During this period, Japan had not fully adopted an absolute imperial system, and the imperial family existed as the chief of a coalition administration. In is in such a situation that Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the form of a gift from the King Seimei of Baekje. At this time, some religions such as Shinto existed in Japan, and some people opposed to the introduction of Buddhism. Even Emperor Kinmei was unable to decide and relegated the decision to his vassals. This process of Japan’s accepting Buddhism is referred to the Buddhist Controversy. In this article, I explore whether the Mononobe clan and the Nakatomi clan truly opposed to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from the point of view of Shinto.